


Light on the Ice, Please

by weishenvi



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, But like nothing serious, Light Angst, M/M, Yangyang should think before he does something, idk this is my first fic, thank god he's cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-11
Updated: 2019-08-11
Packaged: 2020-08-23 19:53:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20206285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/weishenvi/pseuds/weishenvi
Summary: What Xiaojun needed was a coffee break, not... this.(i.e. Yangyang figures out how to get Xiaojun to pay attention to him)





	Light on the Ice, Please

**Author's Note:**

> tbh i half proofread this- enjoy!

Xiaojun walked into the nearest off-campus cafe, NeoCaffeine, the exhaustion evident in the way he dragged his feet. Yeah it was still a little expensive, but god damn did he deserve this. It was almost finals week and he worked his ass off the entire semester- plus it’s better than any of the on campus coffee they serve in the dining halls or restaurants. Even better, Kun was gonna meet him there and they had some serious complaining to do (it’s cathartic, they tell themselves).

The refreshing, warm smell of the coffees hit him once he walked inside and it absolutely melted his tiredness away, if just for the moment.  
_Oof, this shouldn’t feel as good as it does… They really didn’t warn me being a vocal performance major would take this much out of me._  
Xiaojun first went to sit down, the dark, relaxing atmosphere of the cafe cheering him up so much he shook off his jean jacket, to help him more easily relax into the wooden chair he had grabbed. Scooting out of the chair after a second, he decided to order something.  
_2:34pm… yeah I’ve got at least 10 minutes before Kun gets here._

◥✥◤

Yangyang couldn’t breathe.  
Well… technically yes, he could, but it felt like it was caught somewhere in his throat, unable to escape. Xiaojun, the cutest boy in the music department was walking up to the counter in a baby blue t shirt that perfectly complimented his dark hair and Yangyang, this shift’s barista, was about to take his order.

As long as he has known him, Yangyang always felt something nagging at his chest whenever the boy with an angelic voice was in a theory class with him, or they passed ways in a corridor and he got a little weak in the knees. He knew it had finally bloomed into a crush when he was in the practice rooms at night- it was midterms week and everyone was stressed and busy. Deciding to take a quick walk around the music building to clear his mind, he heard the faintest melody coming from one of the upper floors through the atrium. Following this siren’s call he made his way to the (weirdly) mostly empty floor. Getting closer to the source of the music he saw one of the practice rooms was left slightly open, and in the cheap, yellow light of the small room he catches a glimpse of the most beautiful boy he had ever seen. Xiaojun. Those familiar bushy brows pulled together in a frown as the boy sang something to himself, probably practicing for his performance exams. He looked exhausted, body looking a little worn out, and in sweats, but that didn’t detract from how naturall beautiful he was.  
It felt like Yangyang had been standing there for hours, losing himself in the falsettos and powerful notes the older boy was making. He was so entranced in fact, he barely noticed that he had stopped singing and was beginning to pack up some of his sheet music.  
_Fuck. Shit. Get out of here._  
Yangyang flew down the stairs and rushed back into the room he had reserved for himself. Little work was done that night.  
So when Xiaojun, beautiful Xiaojun, was strolling up to the counter he knew he had to do something. The world’s dumbest idea had popped into his head, but isn’t that fitting when you’re dealing with the world’s prettiest boy. And besides, it’s not like he had the greatest impulse control anyways.

◥✥◤

Taking a habitual glance up at the menu, although Xiaojun already knew what he wanted, he felt something peculiar. _Is that barista… staring at me? Maybe I’m taking too long?_ Putting those thoughts away he saunters right up to the front of the counter, not wanting to seemingly waste this employee’s time.  
“Hey. So could I please have an iced americano, medium” thinking of Kun, and for himself “also a large iced coffee- light on the ice please”  
The barista shot him a blinding smile.  
“Sure! What’s the name?”  
“Xiaojun” he quickly answers, caught off guard from the friendly gesture.  
Turning away, the barista begins to work on the drinks. Xiaojun glances down at the phone he’s pulled out of his pocket. _Oh thank god, Kun’s gonna get here any moment now._ Amazingly, as if on cue, said man walks into the cafe, shooting Xiaojun a little wave. Completely turned away from the counter now, the singer moves to say something before he;s interrupted.  
“Two drinks for Xijune!”  
Wha-?

◥✥◤

Xiaojun’s mind was blank. Completely empty. He grabbed the two drinks and silently walked back to the table Kun was now sitting at, his eyebrows feeling like they might be permanently scrunched together. The older man had a little smirk on his face as his friend sat down.  
“Xijune, hey! How’s your day going?” Kun barely manages to ask without breaking out into laughter.  
“Peace,” Xiaojun sighs “I just wanted a break…”  
Kun laughs and nudges toward the boy’s coffee, urging him to take a sip. As he does, Xiaojun takes a glance at the barista. _He is Chinese right?_ Not too many foreigners went to his school, and besides that, Xiaojun isn’t sure he had ever seen the boy before. He had fluffy hair that fell over a soft looking face, he definitely looked younger than him for sure. Regardless, this was gonna bug him. His name, it’s really not difficult. It’s not like he was accented or had some countryside name. No, Xiaojun is a regular name, how the hell did that boy mess it up so bad and-  
“Junnie? Hey? Hello?” Kun waved his hand in front of his friend’s face.  
“Ah, sorry. I’m a little out of it today, but we’re here to unwind so you go first.”  
Kun launches into how his day has been, the shitty underclassmen he has to tutor who keep adding surprise adlibs onto the ends of songs which wouldn’t be a huge issue if it didn’t sound like they were doing Louis Armstrong impressions, and were they even taking this seriously?  
As his friend continues to let it all out, Xiaojun takes a little glance at the barista again. Some of the shock and annoyance he felt earlier wore off. Probably just a mistake, maybe he had a long shift today. He didn’t realize that while thinking about all of this he was actually staring at the barista in question, so when he glanced over and he gave Xiaojun a little raised eyebrow he almost choked on his coffee.  
“Shit, you okay?”  
“A-ah yeah, sorry. Anyways wow Kun those kids sound awful”  
_Thank god_, Xiaojun sighed to himself, he didn’t want to get caught staring by his friend… twice.

◥✥◤

Yangyang spent the rest of his shift in a daze.  
He almost couldn’t control his smile as he took care of the rest of his customers, accidentally dazzling them with his pearly whites. Once his shift was over, after giving a quick hello to Jungwoo who always works after him on Wednesdays, the reality of the situation sunk in. _Xiaojun???? Looked at me?!_ It took everything in his willpower to not knock his head on the wall just to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. _Holy shit holy shit holy shit holy sh-_ He barely noticed he had already made it back to his dorm, his feet automatically taking him where he needed to go while his head was up in the clouds.  
Hendery looked up from his desk when Yangyang walked into their dorm, giving his friend and roommate a strange look.  
“Dude, what gives? You look like you just won the lottery!” No response from Yangyang, a smile still etched onto his round face, “Wait, fuck oh my god you didn’t right, did you? That’s crazy let’s get out of this shitty dorm we could…”  
Hendery faltered seeing no further reaction from his friend, and deflated further into his chair.  
“What’s got you smiling like a freak then? Spill.”  
Some color flushed into the younger’s face, “Remember that one guy I told you about” Hendery’s face lights up at the mention of some possible romance, “the-the singer. The cute singer with the-”  
“EYEBROWS?! NO FREAKING WAY”  
Yangyang could only nod excitedly, the event replaying in his head over and over. Hendery wildly gestured him over to sit so he could explain the whole situation. Suddenly free from his hesitations, Yangyang launched into the story, animatedly explaining the events of his past shift. Unbeknownst to the storyteller, Hendery’s face went from smiling at the prospect of young love to just confused. Yangyang took a deep breath after he was done speaking and turned to his friend.  
“Amazing, right? I mean, Xiaojun kinda sorta knows who I am now… wow…”  
It was like there were hearts floating around his head.  
“Uh, Yang…” Hendery couldn’t even look at him, “I don’t wanna rain on your parade, but you realize you probably pissed him off, right?”  
Yangyang’s blood froze.  
“W-what do you mean, haha?”  
“Dude, you fucked up his name, how do you fuck up Xiaojun? You know his name!”  
“Oh, no that was on purpose, don’t worry. Think about it! It makes it even more likely he’ll remember who I am now! And I mean, that stuff isn’t like, super serious right?”  
“Yeah… he’ll remember you as the annoying kid who messed up his name. Dude, have you never been on social media? People post about being mad about that stuff all the time.”  
Oh. Yangyang had not thought of this. He thought maybe it would be charming and Xiaoun would spend the rest of his day wondering who the barista with the fluffy hair and nice smile was who charmingly and cutely messing up his name- oh. Oh yeah. That’s not really the best idea was it?  
Throwing himself on the floor besides his roommate’s bed, Yangyang grieved.  
“Dery what am I gonna do?! I thought it was a good idea oh my god I’m so screwed I messed with my only chance!”  
Shrugging, Hendery moved back to look over his work, “I guess you just shouldn’t do that again! You could have another shot! Maybe this was just a fluke?”  
Shakily regaining some confidence, Yangyang nodded at this, still sprawled over the uncomfortable dorm carpeting. _Yeah! Next time Xiaojun comes in I’ll blow him away with how respectful and attentive I am! No more messing around!_

◥✥◤

Xiaojun once again needed a coffee.  
The same kid who took his order at the cafe was there like before. Xiaojun recalled their previous encounter, strong emotions rushed up, but he pushed those thoughts down as he remembered he had chalked it up to a long day. Nothing much then was on his mind as he moseyed up to the counter to get himself a frappuccino as a treat after a long day.  
“Hi again! What can I get for you?” The barista asked, looking directly into Xiaojun’s eyes with a surprising amount of intensity, but there was something sweet there too.  
Thinking of the extra whipped cream he’s going to absolutely devour once he picks a table to lounge at, the older boy gives Yangyang a dreamy smile.  
“Yeah, can I get a medium French vanilla frapp with extra whipped cream? Thank you so much.”  
Looking smaller and in a much quieter voice than before the barista asked, “C-can I get a name?”  
“Xiaojun.”  
Relaxing into a plush chair in a corner of the cafe, Xiaojun mulls over this upcoming project he was just assigned. Something about picking a piece that describes new love, the fluttering, the nervousness, among other bullshit. _Ugh, all I am is a huge ball of stress…. Can I convey the emotions of wanting to throw myself off of the music building instead to my professor?_ Sinking further into his chair, Xiaojun was roused by hearing the barista clear his throat rather loudly.  
“Yeah u-uh, one medium frapp for uh… Zhaojun”

◥✥◤

“Kun, do you think someone can hate you on sight?”  
The serious look on his friend’s face fell into a laugh.  
“This is about the barista right? Because you have been bringing that up all the time.”  
Xiaojun halfheartedly listens to his friend’s analysis of his actions. Yes, of course he had been thinking about this interaction, how could he not? He sings for crying out loud- his pronunciation is perfect, and not only that, but this kid messed it up twice in a row, and definitely seemed to recognize him at least.  
“Junnie I don’t know, I think this kid just has a crush on you or something.” He shrugged.  
Xiaojun splutters, “What?! That’s impossible! You’re nice to your crush, you don’t try to annoy them,” he rests his head in his hands “besides, don’t mention crushes right now, you know I’m stressing about this assignment.”  
“Okay okay sorry, I just think your reaction to all of this is kinda funny, that’s all.”  
Xiaojun and Kun break from their conversation to take sips of their drinks. They were at a cafe, not NeoCaffeine though, by Xiaojun’s choice, citing that he needed ‘a change of atmosphere’. Although this cafe was nice still, pastels and florals decorating every surface, something felt off. He missed the dark wood of the previous cafe, being wrapped in warmth the moment one walked in, and that barista is pretty cute too-_What?_ Xiaojun shook his head. _No! Cute is nice! Annoying is bad! He’s annoying! Ugh, this is Kun’s fault._

◥✥◤

It was almost a week before Yangyang saw him again. He was sitting with the guy he had sat with before. Yangyang frowns. _His boyfriend?_ That thought gets pushed out of his head as instead of the object of his desires walking up, the other guy is coming up to order. _He hates me so much he won’t even come to the front anymore, I fucked up so badly._  
The last time Xiaojun came in, he was feeling so confident. Hendery’s words echoed in his mind that this was not the end, he had another chance. He held his head high and puffed out his chest, but when it came to ask the pretty boy for his name however, his anxiety took over and well… now all he sees when he glances over are a pair of curious eyes that glare once they realize Yangyang’s met them. Dejectedly, the younger boy bounces on his heels a bit. The friend, who he now knows is named Kun, orders two drinks. The younger made them absentmindedly, continuously staring back at where Xiaojun was sitting, and said boy in question had his head resting on the table, turned away from him. Kun stood not too far away, and following Yangyang’s stare let out a chuckle.  
“Ah, iced coffee and an americano for Kun.”  
The kind-faced man walked up, “Thanks,” and quickly gestured to Xiaojun, “don’t worry about him too much.”  
Yangyang could only stare at him in confusion, his attention forcibly drawn away by a group of customers who had just entered and he would have to attend to. What he did notice was Xiaojun’s explosive reaction to his friend’s name being right.  
“KUN! He didn’t mess up Kun!” he whined.  
“Dejunnie, come on. It’s one syllable after all.”  
Yangyang might’ve had a tough time, but seeing the other boy’s cute annoyance still brought a small smile to his face, though a quick glance at the schedule on the wall made it fall immediately. _Ugh, I gotta close tomorrow?_

◥✥◤

Kun looks up in surprise as Xiaojun slams his small hands onto his table. They were in the library  
“I’m going to confront him.”  
“ … Who?”  
“That barista!”  
Kun’s face showed an expression Xiaojun couldn’t read.  
“I mean, go right ahead. Maybe it will bring you some closure here, seems like you’re barely focusing on your work.”  
Xiaojun sighed, slightly less enthusiastic once he thinks about his friend’s statement. He still had that big project coming up and instead of conjuring feelings of butterflies all he feels is a twist in his stomach as his mind continuously drifted to the stupid, frustrating, wide-eyed, annoying, smiley, dumb, day-ruining, cute- _Again!_ Xiaojun sighs and plops down in the seat across from Kun, running his hands through his hair. _Yeah, I need to get this over with now._

◥✥◤

When Xiaojun storms into the cafe, Yangyang is nothing less than shocked. The emotion on the singer’s face can only be described as rage, rousing the attention of the only other customer in the establishment, after all it was around 7:55pm, 5 minutes before closing. Although shocked, Yangyang tried to regain his composure, losing it again slightly when he notices just how cute the other boy looks that day, sweater paws and all.  
“Hi! We’re almost closing, but I’ll make an exception here, what would yo-”  
Xiaojun throws up his hands “Hey! No! Stop! What’s your problem with me? Seriously? We don’t even know each other! And you continuously insist on ruining my name… why? Have I done something to you? I’ve got this huge ass assignment and instead of that all I can think about is your dumb face messing up my name all the time! How am I supposed to focus on anything else when you especially insist on doing this to me! I don’t even usually have a temper but for some reason I can’t stop thinking about this,” he inches closer to the counter where Yangyang is leaning, “so listen, I like this cafe and I like your coffee just get my name right, okay? It’s not that hard for crying out loud it’s-”  
The chance. “Xiaojun!”  
The older’s mouth hangs open, his eyes desperately scanning Yangyang’s face, looking for something, but the younger doesn’t know what.  
Taking the other’s faltering as an opportunity, Yangyang musters up everything he’s got and beams at Xiaojun.  
“Your name is Xiaojun!” remembering the reason why Xiaojun is here though, he feels shy, “I’m super sorry about uh, those two mishaps… It was just kinda cute to see you frustrated, b-but the second one was an accident I swear! I just… really wanted you to notice me... ”  
Xiaojun still hasn’t fully reacted to this information, but his mouth is closed now and he seems to be in thought.  
“Cute, huh?”  
“Yeah! Your eyebrows kinda bunch together and your hands ball up as you let out a little humph, plus your voice is the best in the whole vocal performance program!”  
Xiaojun finally looks him straight in the eyes, visibly less tense “Well, thank you for this information, I-I’m sorry I got so angry while there were customers here. Besides, I guess your plan technically worked.”  
However, when they both look over, the entire place is empty. The hand on the clock shows the time: 8:10pm. Past closing. Feeling a little embarrassed from the whole situation, Xiaojun seems to realize this and moved to leave when Yangyang gently pokes his shoulder. He turned to face him again.  
Yangyang smiles and tilts his head, “Listen, can I make this up to you? Your name is too pretty to mess up, I’ll make you a drink on the house, what do you say?”  
Xiaojun smiles at this, a slight pink dusting his cheeks, and he finally seems to completely relax.  
“Sure, yeah, sounds good to me. Don’t you need to close, by the way”  
Some energy surges through the younger and he lets out a little jump, “Of course! I’ll be one minute!”  
Xiaojun nods and sits in one of the chairs, watching Yangyang zoom around the cafe, turning off machines and locking doors. Finally he’s done and they both walk out of the establishment.  
“So…” Yangyang begins, wringing his hands, “come by tomorrow? Before 2? That’s when my shift ends.”  
“Yeah, I’ll come by,” Xiaojun swings his arms as they both begin the walk back to campus, “But wait… let me get your name first, isn’t it only fair?”  
“Oh! Yeah! Haha, you should know that. It’s Yangyang.”  
Xiaojun stops in his tracks. “Yangyang! With a name like Yangyang there’s no way someone could mess that up! Doubled syllable! No wonder you didn’t understand how it feels to mess up a name! You and Kun are so lucky!”  
Anxiety rushes through Yangyang for a moment, thinking he’s somehow messed up again, but when he looks at Xiaojun, he sees the older has a playful look on his face he hasn’t seen before.  
“I’m kidding,” Xiaojun nudges him, “It’s a cute name” he quietly adds at the end.

◥✥◤

Xiaojun was nervous, very very nervous. It was a week after his midterm performance and results were going to be uploaded in 20 minutes. He sat in front of his laptop, refreshing constantly (fully knowing that until the agreed upon upload time, there was going to be no changes), sipping on his coffee as he did so (Yangyang, he had noticed, had memorized his order).  
Slowly the time finally came, and after one final refresh on the page his score popped up. _A?! Holy shit I didn’t fail this!_ Silently celebrating, he didn’t notice a presence over his him until he feels a hand suddenly grip his shoulder.  
“XIAOJUN! YOU PASSED!”  
Yangyang jumps up and pulls Xiaojun with him, engulfing him in a tight hug that the elder melts into, feeling his stress melt away.  
“I’ll ask Jungwoo if he can cover for me today, let’s go celebrate, besides I’ve got something I wanna ask you anyways.”  
Closing his laptop to go get ice cream as a reward (a non-verbal agreement between the two), Xiaojun didn’t get to read the professor’s notes on the grade:  
_Xiaojun, I am very impressed by your performance this time. You are always an exemplary student, but I was particularly impressed with your emotions, you made the song sound like it was yours, like you were actually experiencing it, something many of your classmates struggled with. Great work._  
Rushing out of the cafe, his bag barely on his shoulder, Xiaojun feels something grab him and looks down to see Yangyang running in front of him, pulling him by his hand. Warmth seems to spread out from their connected hands and he looks up to see the gummy smile he’s been getting more and more familiar with. _An A, huh?_ Thoughts of his grades fly out of his mind as he’s taken by the image of the cute boy in front of him, hair bouncing up and down as he pulls Xiaojun along, throwing his head back laughing. All Xiaojun can do is run with him, think of the cotton candy ice cream he’s going to devour, and hope Yangyang is asking the question he’s been looking forward to since the two made up.

**Author's Note:**

> hehe hello  
this is my first work i've decided to publish here! so i am very nervous! i know it's not that good, so any criticism or comments would be super appreciated. thank you for reading, if you do :)
> 
> twit: @henderyvi  
cc: https://curiouscat.me/fujingsgf


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